JANE

 

The light coming from my laptop was numbing. I blinked to clear my blurring vision. My screen was the only light in the darkness of my office. I was in a trance. I couldn’t break my focus. Not right now.

A sudden knock at my door finally made me turn my head up.

“Come in,” I sighed.

The door opened up.

“Jesus, Lieberman… What the fuck are you doing in here?”

He flipped the light switch to give himself a pathway to my desk.

“Gotcha something,” he said.

He put a cup of coffee down on my desk.

“Take a break already. You’ve been at it all day.”

“A break,” I sighed. “I don’t see the harm in that…”

I took a sip of the warm coffee.

“Just how you like it,” he said.

“No need for cream or sugar.”

Cook gave me a half-smirk before taking a sip of his own coffee.

I’d been working with Agent Cook this entire time. He’d been assigned to me and he did a good job of following orders. Most men would’ve had a problem taking orders from a female but he knew that we were in Ivory for a reason. Anything to get the job done.

He slicked his hand over his bald head and looked out the window.

“Nighttime in Ivory is kinda nice,” he said. “It’s so quiet. So peaceful. I’ve never been in a town like this before.”

“You and I both know it’s not quiet or peaceful. We’re some of the few people in this town that know what’s really going on.”

“I think everybody knows. The cops know. The clubs know. The citizens know. It’s just nobody talks about it. That’s life in Ivory.”

He kept staring off into the distance. The way he looked, you’d think he was sad or something.

“You’re getting a little romantic about this town,” I said.

“Maybe. We’ve been here for a long time. Don’t tell me you haven’t grown accustomed to it.”

“The only thing I’m accustomed to is trying to get our job done.”

“Everything’s going well so far. You’ve done a hell of a job. You’ll earn that promotion in no time.”

“Promotion,” I scoffed. “A promotion to me would be the chance to finally leave this shithole…”

I took another sip of coffee and thought about all the shit I’d been through up to this point.

“I remember when they gave me the assignment,” I said. “They told me that they had a lead on some Triads. Told me Lin’s group was in the area. I took it without hesitating.”

“You didn’t know you were coming to Ivory?”

“No idea. I would’ve thought twice if I had to deal with all of these damn MCs around here.”

“You’ve done a pretty good job of dealing with them so far. It won’t be much longer until the Reapers fall. You…”

Cook hesitated. He shifted eyes out toward the window. I raised an eyebrow in curiosity at him, wondering why he was acting so strange.

“I what?” I said.

“You’ve done a lot. I’ve done a lot…”

“Don’t tell me you regret anything. You have to look at the big picture here, Cook.”

“I know. I’m just saying. Did I really have to shoot that kid?”

I looked into Cook’s eyes. The bastard almost looked like he was going to cry.

“Yes,” I said. “You had to shoot him.”

“But he was innocent.”

“He’s not innocent. He knew what he was doing when he put the patch on. Don’t fool yourself. The Reapers are killers. The kid was armed. He’s just as capable of killing someone as any of the other club members.”

“Right… Well, it looks like your plan is all coming together. I’m getting reports that the Triads are starting to mobilize. They’re not too happy about one of their soldiers dying.”

I laughed at the thought of it.

“Nobody will miss a Triad,” I said. “Pinning it on that kid means the Reapers will have to act, too.”

“What about the drive-by on their clubhouse?”

“What about it? The Reapers caught them, as expected. Cunningham got the answers he was looking for. That club thinks you’re working for the Triads. Now the Chinese and the Reapers are at each other’s throats.”

Cook nodded in understanding. I held most of my plan close to my heart. Now that it was all coming to fruition, I could let Cook in on the details. It was only a matter of time until I got to where I wanted to be.

“Okay,” he said. “The Reapers think it was the Chinese that ordered that gang to shoot up their clubhouse, not us. The Reapers are going to war. And they’ll probably end up dead.”

“No big loss.”

“That doesn’t help our situation. The Reapers are just a stepping stone. If they die, we won’t be any closer to Lin. We’ll just be looking for another in with the Triads.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. We have our in right here.”

I turned my laptop around and showed him the man on the screen.

“Do you know who this is?” I asked.

“Of course I do. We’ve been following the Reapers for so long, I feel like I’m related to them. Dorian Sullivan. Sully, I think they call him. He’s just another Reaper.”

“He’s not just another Reaper. He grew up in Ivory. He was a town hero when he was in high school. Now he’s a war hero. Saved the town from an arsonist.”

“An arsonist you encouraged…”

“He’s a firefighter, too. But you know what the best part about Sullivan is?”

“What’s that?”

“Look at his record.”

Cook narrowed his eyes at the screen and shook his head.

“He doesn’t have a record.”

“Exactly. Sullivan isn’t a criminal. He’s a good man. A true town hero. He’s the newest patch, too, so there’s a good chance he didn’t really know what he was getting into.”

“I still don’t see where you’re going with this.”

With everything coming together, there was just one more step to take. I’d need Cook’s help to take that last step.

“You’re right,” I said. “The Triads killing the Reapers doesn’t help us finish our job. But if I can convince a Reaper, just one Reaper, to get me info on Lin, then I’ll have the answers I’m looking for.”

“You think Sullivan will rat on his own club?”

“If Sullivan’s lack of a record is any indication, he’ll do the right thing. The Reapers know how the Triads do business. Sullivan will give me the details on the Triads. Then Lin will be standing right in front of us.”

Cook kept shaking his head but I knew it was only because of his own uncertainty.

“I still don’t see how you’re going to convince him to do that,” I said.

“I’ll offer Sullivan full protection from the Triads and any other MC that tries to get near him.”

“But—”

“And… It’ll save his club. Once we get our hands on the Triads, they won’t be able to touch the Reapers. Now… Put yourself in Sullivan’s shoes. If you could choose between saving your club and ratting them out or letting them go out in a blaze of glory going to war with the Triads, what would you do?”

Cook looked down at the ground. There was nothing to consider but he seemed reluctant to admit it.

“Being labeled a rat won’t bother someone like Sullivan. Not if it means saving his club. Getting in a shootout with the Chinese is something they can’t win. Making a deal with me is Sullivan’s only option to save his club.”

Cook sighed and nodded to me.

“It looks like you’ve got this all figured out,” he said.

“Tell me something, Cook. Do you think there’s any other way for the Reapers to get out of this?”

“…No.”

“Worst case scenario, Sullivan doesn’t take my offer and the Reapers get wiped out. Then we move on to one of the other MCs the Chinese are dealing with. And we just keep going until one of them eventually gives us the answer we’re waiting for.”

“Will the higher-ups be okay with that? Are you prepared to stay in Ivory that long? We’ve been here for more than a year already.”

I looked out the window and stared out into the city. The sky was dark but there wasn’t a cloud to block all the stars shining bright.

“I’ve already been here longer than I wanted to be,” I said. “I’m prepared to wait a little longer. But…”

“But what?”

“There’s no need for us to be here that long. Get a meeting with Sullivan.”

“What?” he exclaimed.

“Talk to Sullivan. We’ll explain the situation to him. Once he knows that the only way to save his club is to give us information on the Triads, he’ll have no choice but to lead us right to Lin.”

“And if he refuses? I can’t imagine he’ll be too happy about being set-up like this.”

“If he refuses, then he can die on his shield. I think some clubs say there’s honor in dying for the MC. Even that won’t matter when there’s no club left to speak of.”

I nonchalantly took a sip of my coffee. There was no cream or sugar but damn if it didn’t taste so sweet right now.

“There’s just one more thing, Lieberman.”

“What’s that?”

“The kid. He’s not dead. There’s a chance he’ll survive. He’ll know that it was me who shot him and the Triad. He’ll know that this was all just a set-up.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of it. Even something like that wouldn’t mess this up.

“…Then I guess you’d better hurry in getting that meeting with Sullivan.”